Frederic tudor



(No Model.)

I F. TUDOR. TESTING DRAIN PIPES.

.Patelited July 5, 18 81.

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WITNESSES r I 4 INVENTUR= W a I u PETERS, PhoioLhhonphen'Walhigton. n,c,

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

FREDERIO TUDOR, or NEW-YORK, N. Y.

TESTING DRAIN-PIPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,741, dated July 5,1881,

(No model.)

T all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that I, FREDERIO TUDOR, of New York city, New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvement in Testing Drain- Pipes, ofwhich the following is a specification.

It is well known that the leakage of sewergases from waste or drainpipes into the apartments of dwellings is very prejudicial to health,and is a source of fatal diseases, which hence renders it very desirablethat some means he provided of testing such pipes, or so constructingthem that they may be readily tested to 7 determine whether any leaksexist, andif so to show their location, so that they may be easily foundand stopped. fore employed for this purpose is to charge the pipes withwater and search for leaks, which will be indicated by an escape ofwater at the leaking place This, however, is troublesome andunsatisfactory, and is liable to cause great damage to the dwellingsshould any serious leak exist.

My invention aims to provide a means whereby the drain or waste pipesmay be tested in a convenient, sure, and safe manner; and the annexeddrawing, together with the following description, will show in what theinvention consists and how it is applied.

The figure in the drawing represents a sectional elevation of athree-story house with cellar, showing the system of drains, also insection.

The drains consist of a main horizontal and vertical pipe, a, receivingthe rain-water leaders a, and also a ventilating-pipe, b, which passesthrough the roof of the house, and from which lateral branches extendwithin the house to the upper bends of the several traps of thewater-closets, sinks, bath tubs, and washbasins, while the waste fromsaid traps is discharged into separate branch pipes at connecting withthe main waste pipe a, as fully illustrated in the drawing. It may benow observed that all the openings of the drains, whereby the interiormight be in free communication with the outer air, are represented inthe drawing as closed, the openings thereof in the house being closed bythe water in the traps, which is their usual condition, theventilating-pipe being closed by a temporary airtight hood tied over thesame, while the rain=.

The only means hereto-' of the gage.

leaders are closed by boards or plugs and airtight packings placedacross the pipes at some convenient point in the manner of a roughlymadegate-valve, as indicated at c 0. Finally, the whole system of drains asrelates to their contained air is isolated from the sewer by means of atrap at It, or, where there is no trap, a plug or valve may be used. Thearrangement is hence such that if air be forced into the drain-pipes byway of one of the branch waste-pipes, whose trap may be emptied for thatpurpose, pressure will be accumulated if the pipes are tight, but nototherwise. For this purpose, however, I provide the ventilating-pipeb-say on the top floor-with a special opening or nipple, f, for theattachment of a gage, e, and air-forcing apparatus, which nipple may beclosed at all other times. To test the pipes, air may now be blown intothe pipes by the breath through the nipple f and an attachedmouth-piece, and where the drains are not too large or numerous apressure may be readily accumulated within the drains in this way, ifthey are not too leaky, and this pressure will be indicated by the gageor manometer 6, attached to the nipple f.

In the case of newly-laid drains in an ordinary dwelling-house nofurther apparatus than as just described is necessary, and if thepressure produced by the force of the breath in the pipes is maintained,which will be shown by the gage, the drains may be considered tight; ifnot, leaks must exist. Where the pipes are numerous, large, or leaky,however, a more powerful blowing apparatus than the human lungs will benecessary, such as a bellows or air-pump, as shown at g, thedischarge-pipe of which is connected with the testing-nipple f. To testthe pipes by this apparatus it is only necessary to see that all theregular openings of the drains are closed,as before described, and thento operate the pump 9, If the pipes and joints are all tight, a pressurewill nowbe speedily accumulated and maintained within the same, and thiswill be clearly indicated by the gage. If, however, there are smallleaks, the pressure will slowly diminish, and if the leaks are large, nopressure can be accumw lated, all of which will be shown by the actionThe exact location of the leaks can be obtained by forcing the airthrough a chamber, h, containing strongly-odorous materialsuch as oil ofpeppermint, spirits of camphor, or other powerful and distinctivescentplaced between the air-pump and the nipple f, so that the airentering the drains will be strongly scented, and its escape from anyleak will enable the latter to be accurately locatedby scent, whichleaks may then be closed so as to render the pipes tight.

The chamber H is connected with the pipe h, through which the air isforced, by branch pipes t i and cooks j j at each end, and between thebranch pipes i t' is set a cook, it, by means of which the air from thepump may be either forced directly through the pipe h or may be passedaround through the chamber, as desired, by simply turning the cocks inthe proper positions.

In case it is desired to obtain a greater degree of pressure than thetraps will allow,checkvalves can be put into the waste-pipes, or thetraps may be securely plugged, when the press ure may be increased tothe desired extent.

By this means it will be seen that the drains of a house, whether new orold, may be quickly tested in a convenient and certain manner,

which will avoid injury to the house, insure the detection of leaks, andenable the same to be stopped up, so as to render the drains tight andin correct sanitary condition, which has been heretofore very desirable.

I am aware that it is not new to test gaspipes by pumping air or etheror other odorous material into them, and therefore I make no claim,broadly, to the testing of pipes by pumping into them either air orstrong scents.

What I claim is- The combination, with a system of drains substantiallysuch as set forth, of a branch or air pipe having an opening or nipple,f, a pump, g, scent-chamber H, air-pipe h, branch pipesi 02, providedwith cocks j j, and communicalingwith the opposite ends of thescentchamber, and the cock is between said branch pipes, whereby eithercommon or scented air may be forced into the drains at will for testingsaid drains, substantially as shown and described.

FREDERIO TUDOR.

Witnesses:

S. H. WALES, EDWARD H. WALES.

